By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College
There’s been a lot of talk that Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaign is little different from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. But the way the campaign events were handled in each election cycle show quite a contrast, no matter what pundits say, and it looks better for Democrats this year.
In The Atlantic, Yair Rosenberg describes the Harris campaign as Clinton’s without the fumbles. That’s not fair, or necessarily accurate, especially when you compare and contrast the Clinton and Harris campaign events in Georgia.
Rosenberg seems to imply that Harris is running as a Republican-lite, noting cheers for patriotism, the military, etc. Yes, at Harris’ event they had American flags (who doesn’t), they didn’t go over the top with the patriotic plaudits. They cheered the police when Harris noted that an officer was injured on the security detail, but I think that’s a bipartisan expression of sympathy. It was still a speech to the Democratic Party faithful if not progressive, and not steal the rhetoric. MAGA and Project 2025 were booed.
Yes, there were tax cuts….for families in their first year for car seats, baby strollers, and clothes. There were also calls for tax cuts to stimulate the construction of affordable housing. If they were GOP policies, they were for Democratic ends.
The difference isn’t just in the policies. As I witnessed firsthand, the organization and enthusiasm were also very different.
In 2015, several of my students and I tried to attend an October 2015 rally. We had our tickets, and arrived long before the start. But the gates were locked. Friends inside said wait, there were still plenty of seats inside. A few would get let in at a time, but they stopped doing that an hour before the event. Some had driven from Macon and Auburn, Alabama for the event. We stood for hours in the hot afternoon for nothing. There was some hope she would step over and address the crowd holding tickets, standing at the gates. But no dice.
While the faithful waited outdoors, the protesters sure made it inside, and heckled the heck out of Clinton while she tried to speak at all of the events.
It was the first time I realized Hillary Clinton could lose.
At least we got to meet basketball star Grant Hill when he exited, took selfies, and chatted up the classic college games. Without that fortuitous meeting, it could have been disastrous for my students.
If one expected a similar botched rally at Savannah to complete the Hillary = Harris, they were sorely disappointed. The event at Enmarket Arena was as electric as any campaign could hope. Every seat was taken, and not some “A.I.-generated” fakery. The crowds responded excitedly to her address, and were ready to canvass and knock on doors. It was like going to a rock concert.
Hillary could have also made the Georgia rally more successful in the 2016 campaign with more visits to the suburbs, like Kennesaw and . Harris and Walz did not miss that opportunity, making sure they visited small businesses and towns nearby.
It’s just a pair of rallies, of course. And there are still 60 more days until the election. During the rally, Harris claimed “I’m the underdog.” Given she only recently entered, that’s probably true. But if she replicates her Savannah showing in the swing states, she just might pull it off in 2024. They’ll need to have these kinds of rallies in suburbs like Cobb County, not just in sympathetic small towns and big cities.
John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His “X” account is JohnTures2.
